Dispenser for carrying bags or the like

ABSTRACT

A dispenser for carrying bags from a roll-wound or layer-packed continuous strip form supply, presenting ready for the user a single bag pendent from a mouth device, which is shiftable upon tearing off a bag to initiate automatic feed of a bag length of the strip by strip embracing drive rollers. With bags having grip holes, feed rollers cooperating also as normally closed switch contacts, in sensing arrival of a hole, determine the feed of a bag length for terminating a feed cycle. Small front space is required by the mouth device in store display areas.

United States Patent [1 1 Sengewald Sept. 24, 1974 DISPENSER FOR CARRYING BAGS OR THE LIKE [76] Inventor: Karl H. Sengewald, 4801 Kunsebeck, Westphalia, Germany [22] Filed: July 2, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 375,641

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 93,048, Nov. 27, I970,

abandoned.

[52] US Cl 225/11, 226/43, 226/44 [51] Int. Cl 1326f 3/02 [58] Field of Search 225/10, l4, 15, ll;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,507,428 4/l970 Leibreich 225/11 3,626,49] l2/l97l Grosser 225/ll X Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Assistant ExaminerLeon Gilden Attorney, Agent, or Firm-P. D. Golrick 5 7 ABSTRACT A dispenser for carrying bags from a roll-wound or layer-packed continuous strip form supply, presenting ready for the user a single bag pendent from a mouth device, which is shiftable upon tearing off a bag to initiate automatic feed of a bag length of the strip by strip embracing drive rollers. With bags having grip holes, feed rollers cooperating also as normally closed switch contacts, in sensing arrival of a hole, determine the feed of a bag length for terminating a feed cycle. Small front space is required by the mouth device in store display areas.

9 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENIEDSEPZMGM SHEET 1 BF 4 FIG] INVENTOR.

KARL H. SENGEWALD BY SHEET 2 0F 4 INVENTOR. KARL H. SENGEWALD BY PAIENIEBSEPZWH 3337.549

' saw so; 4

INVENTOR. KARL H. SENGEWALD M WW ATTYS.

DISPENSER FOR CARRYING BAGS OR THE LIKE This application is a division of appliation Ser. No. 93,048 filed Nov. 27, 1970, now abandoned. su

The present invention is concerned with a device for dispensing carrying bags supplied in continuous strip form, particularly bags with grip holes, though certain features of the invention are applicable to other bag forms.

Hitherto in stores the dispensing of carrying bags as a rule has ben attended to by sales personnel or clerks who take the bags as needed from conveniently located stacks or bundles. The stacking and the handing out of bags is inconvenient and demands much time of sales personnel so that generally they cannot always devote themselves fully to their intended activities, namely to selling and advising customers. On the other hand, when the customers help themselves to bags, they do not always remove a bag from a pile or bundle with the necessary care, so that the pile is often completely disordered, or toppled and scattered. Also in order to be conveniently accessible, the bag stacks must occupy a correspondingly large space in what is valuable prominent merchandise display frontage or area.

The general object of the present invention is to avoid the disadvantages of prior practices in dispensing carrying bags to customers in shops. Another object is to provide a bag dispenser which automatically feeds a strip of connected bags through a discharge mouth and tear off device by one bag length as each bag is torn off. A further object is to provide a dispenser for strip connected bags supplied in roll form or a layered packed carton.

For attainment of these objects, there is proposed a carrying bag dispenser adapted to receive a supply source for complete bags connected together successively in a continuous strip through the residual bridges of material at respective tear-off perforation lines, and a discharge mouth device through which the leading end of the bag strip is carried so that a bag is always presented ready for removal. With the strip supply source at a rear location in the dispenser and the strip lead over simple guide means to the mouth device at the front of a dispenser frame, an apparatus of the invention requires only a small space, particular in the display frontage of its environment; and has the advantage that it can be built in into place in sales counters or display racks or stands. Moreover, rather than relying entirely on customer action with the leading end of the bag strip by hand drawn out from the apparatus for a carrying bag length and then the leading bag torn off, in the hereinafter described preferred embodiment, the carrying bag strip is advanced automatically through the apparatus by one bag length as each bag is torn off, thereby presenting a pendent bag at the mouth to be easily grasped and separated.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following description and the drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show lengths of respective strips of finished carrying bags and a corresponding separated bag of two types, which may be dispensed by the apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a first dispenser embodiment of the invention, dispensing bags from a supply roll;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed side view, partially in vertical section, of part of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4A is a fragmentary further enlarged detail of a portion of FIG. 4

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to that of FIG. 3, showing dispensing of bags from a bag strip packed layered in a shipping carton;

FIG. 6 is a simplified modification of the apparatus for handling the bag strip from supply packaging of the type appearing in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic electrical diagram for operation and control of the apparatus of the aforegoing figures; and

FIG. 8 is a detailed side view of one of the control contact rolls serving as a drive roll and assuming the form of an electric drive motor.

Although the invention is adapted for feeding bags of other constructions, wherein successive bags are connected to each other in a strip of indefinite length by residual material bridging tear off perforation lines, by way of example, in FIGS. 1 and 2 there are shown two types of such bags each having through the top or mouth margins a grip hole punch out; and the bag further in FIG. 2 having infolded sides. Although similar bag strip forms having at longitudinally spaced locations other holes therethrough or imprinted markings as index marks for identifying successive bag lengths to the machine for control purposes, for example, by photoelectric means, here the coincident grip holes through both bag walls in the strip are used for control purposes in the particular dispenser embodiment of the invention hereinafter described relative to other figures.

Each strip of connected successive bags, as represented by bags l2-l2a-12b in the short strip lengths above the respective detached finished bags, irrespective of how originally formed, (whether from an extruded flattened film tube of thermoplastic material, from folded and joined flat sheet film stock, or possibly as well from paper or other material), may be considered as formed from a continuous flattened tube of indefinite length providing the opposed longitudinally edge-joined, main layers 13 and 14, across which there are made, corresponding to successive bag lengths, transverse bottom seams 15 weld seams in the case of thermoplastic film stock, immediately adjacent parallel tear off formations defining the ultimate top or mouth of the successive bag and including a perforation line 16 as part of a tear-off weakening structure, and then just below the latter, coincident grip holes 17 punched out or incised through both walls and respective reinforcement laminations on their inside faces.

In FIG. 1 the tear-off structure of formation is represented by a pair of coincident perforation lines at 16 through both tube walls, and the grip hole reinforcements are localized about the grip hole regions. In FIG. 2 the reinforcing laminations 18a run continuously through the length of the tube strip, therefore through the length of each bag; and a complete transverse severence cut 19 is made through the wall 13 and the edge infolds at a location coincident with the perforation line 16 through the wall 14, which facilitates even further the tearing off of the successive bags.

Apparatus of FIG. 3 in accordance with the invention includes a generally symmetrical rigid frame represented in fragmentary form by two rigidly secured and spaced like side plates 20 (one shown in solid lines, the other represented in dashed outline) between the rear ends of which, by suitable conventional bearings (with friction drag if desired), there is replaceably mounted a changeable supply roll transverse shaft 21 whereby there is rotatably supported a supply roll R of connected carrying bags thus provided in rollwound strip form; while at the forward frame end a discharge mouth device 23, providing a curved hollow bag strip discharge guide and tear-off edge device, to which the strip is lead over appropriate guide means, in turn is mounted in flap-like fashion through the transverse shaft 24 pivotally suported at its opposite ends in the side plates.

Even the structure thus far described affords a useful compact dispenser, from which by hand bags may be successively drawn out and torn off individually at the mouth device.

Between the supply and discharge ends of the apparatus, bag strip guiding, advance and control means are represented by the mechanism including a cylindrical roll 26 supported rotatably between the frame side plates by its transverse shaft 27 in appropriate bearings, and an opposed disk-like roller or wheel 28 rotatably supported on a shaft 29 carried between the lower free ends a pair of parallel outrigger support arms 30. The upper ends of the latter are secured to a transverse shaft 31 parallel to the other aforementioned shafts, and forming with arms 30 a rigid frame-like arrange ment, whereby roll 28 is supported ultimately by the side plates swingably toward and away from the cylinder 26.

In addition to the weight of roll 28 and a weight component of its pivotal support frame, further bias means may be provided to bias the roll 28 against the cylinder 26 and the horizontal reach of the bag strip feeding centered therebetween to ensure proper driving contact. This roller mechanism may also serve in some degree to aid restraint of the strip reach as a bag is tornoff. Such means, which may assume various forms, here is represented by a helical spring 33 about an end portion of shaft 31 with one spring end anchored to the apparatus main frame and other connected to the adjacent arm 30.

Preferably also on shaft 39, either inbroad or outboard of the arms 30, there are provided further pressure contact rolls 34 disposed laterally of the path of the bag holes 17 so always to track on a continuous portion of the bag strip material. pressing it against cylinder 26.

Further a considerable portion of the external surface of roll 26 (and also of roll 28 where the latter is a drive element) is sheathed in moderately soft rubber to provide a good frictional driving contact with the bag; and optionally also such other rollers used herein.

The shaft 27 is shown extending to the right through the phantom outlined side plate into the drive motor and switch control housing 40 wherein it is coupled either directly or through appropriate gearing to a drive motor unit (see 50 in FIG. 7) subject to the controls hereinafter described.

It is also noted that the roll 28 (or cylinder 26) may also take the form of a drive motor as hereinafter described with respect to 28 in FIG. 8, in which case shaft 27 terminates in the near or right side plate and 40 serves primarily as a control circuit and switch housing.

The broad transversely straight forwardly and downwardly curved hollow flap structure 23 provides a bag feed and guide slot 23a through which the reach of the bag strip extends to present a pendent end bag ready for convenient grasping and tearing off against a straight transverse tearing reaction edge 23b across its downward end or mouth.

A transverse frame bar 37 centrally supports a feed initiating control switch 38 with its actuating finger 38a disposed at a position to be contacted for switch actuation upon an upward swing of the flap structure 23, when the pendent endmost bag is pulled upwardly as indicated by the dash-dotted lines 12 in FIG. 4 for tearing off.

At its mid region, cylinder 26 is provided with a conductive band such as a flush-embedded cylindrical metallic electrical contact band or sleeve 26a electrically connected by an internal conductor 26b, for example, (see FIG. 4) to the metallic shaft 27, upon which bears a slip contact spring finger 42 supported by an insulating block 42a secured on the adjacent side plate 20; while the opposed cooperating conductive contact surface, such as an annular metal band or jacket 28a on roll 28 similarly has a slip contact finger 43 supported by an insulating block 43a on an appropriate cross bar 43b or the like between the arms 30. Otherwise conventional transverse spacer means extending between plates 30 to secure them in a rigid main frame, are omitted for drawing clarity.

These two contact fingers, by respective conductors 44 and 45, and so also the switch 38 by a pair of conductors in the cable 46 are incorporated in the control circuitry with most components in box 40.

FIGS. 4 and 4A in somewhat greater detail show the structural interrelation of these control and/or drive parts to each other and to the bag strip led therebetween, with the grip holes 17 passing between the conductive contact surfaces of cylinder 26 and the roll 28. Thus as the strip is fed, the conductive surfaces of the contact rolls are insulated from each other over the major length of each bag interval, but when a grip hole punch out passes therebetween, the downwardly biased upper roller then makes a switching contact with the lower roller or cylinder, thereby affording a switching signal and thus acting as means for detection of the completion of feed of a single bag length. In effect, the cooperating rollers thus are a normally closed switch. Any rubber surface portion of roll 28 adjacent the conductive band 28a (and similarly of additional pressure rollers where used) are soft enough to deflect and not interfere with good electrical contact being made on 26a. The swingable mounting, of course, provides accommodation to different bag thicknesses. Obviously the point of roll switch contact may be placed off center to handle bags connected along side margins thereof. p The apparatus of FIG. 3 may also be used to feed the layered carton-packed form of the bag strip supply S from a carton 36 as shown in FIG. 5. In this case, the supply roll supporting shaft 21 at its location as in FIG. 3 may serve as the support or strip guiding roller, or it may be shifted to an upper position for engagement in alternate support apertures 21b, which occur in the side plates at the position of the strip guide roll 47 shown in FIG. 5. The roller 47 is of another form with a rubber jacket for better strip control.

On the other hand, where only the stack type packaging S is to be handled, the machine may be further simplified by feeding the strip issuing from a box 36 directly over and around the roll 28 in the manner shown in FIG. 6, in which case carton stop or position means are provided to unambiguously locate the carton 36 (with respect to the frame) as the strip supply support means.

Control circuitry such as that of schematic FIG. 7 may be used for the various arrangements here shown. The electric drive motor 50, which if desired may comprise a motor gear reduction drive unit possibly including an associated electro-magnetic brake device normally braked but released upon motor energization, is connected to the electrical power supply lines 51-52 under the control of a relay 53 having normally open but timed-delay-released motor cotrol contacts 53a in the one line 52, a solenoid coil 53c connected in series with the previously described bag feed initiating switch 38 between the two power leads. A further pair of normally open contacts 53b at the holding contacts in relay 53, is connected in series with the normally closed, instantly opening contacts 54a of a second relay 54 to form a control circuit branch in parallel with switch 38. The contact rolls 28 and 26 (as general designation for such rolls and the respective fingers) with these leads 44, 45 are connected in series with the solenoid 54c as a circuit across the supply lines or other suitable voltage source,

Accordingly when a bag is pulled upwardly to tear it off from the strip, thereby swinging device 23 upwardly and closing switch 38, solenoid 53c is energized closing the holding contacts 53b (thereby to keep the solenoid energized even upon opening of 38) and also closing the motor switch contacts 53a. This immediately starts the motor drive unit, hence roll 26, rotating thereby to advance the bag strip. With a one bag length advance, a grip hole opening 17 in passing between the contact rolls 2628 allows electrical contact to be established therebetween, energizing the solenoid 540 to the normally closed contacts 54a. This interrupts the holding contact circuit to de-energize solenoid 53c; thereby immediaely releasing its holding contacts 53b and initiating the timed delay release or opening of motor control contacts 53a. The delay in opening of the latter contacts allows the bag strip to be driven just slightly beyond the grip hole disposed between the contact rolls, thereby to reinsulate the rolls, ready for another cycle of operation.

The above described roll switch arrangement obviously is advantageous over the alternative of using merely opposed spring fingers cooperatively contacting through holes 17; and where useable by the nature of the bag strip, further is preferred to a control by photocell sensing change of light beam incidence on the strip due to an index mark arrival, to develope a feed interrupting signal. A photoelectric control is not so very well suited in stores, since the usual sales personnel is not too capable for the adjustment or servicing of this type of control, and photoelectric cell controls as a rule are more complex and expensive.

As previously noted, one or the other of the rolls or cylinders 26 or 28, as well as serving as a rolling contact as above described, may itself take the form of a driving motor. FIG. 8 shows such an arrangement for the upper disk roll in a simple generalized form wherein the inside stator 61 is supported by the shaft 29, here hollow to accommodate motor current supplying leads 62 running to the control circuitry in the box 40; and the stator is circumferentially surrounded by an external annular rotor generally designated 63, rotatably supported on shaft 29 by respective bearings 64 in its enclosing end walls 65, whereby the external rotor is rotatably mounted relative to the shaft to serve as a driving roller itself incorporating the motor structure.

The roller contact function is yet had here where a suitable circumferential insulating means 67 is provided on the rotor periphery, whereby the rest of the motor is insulated from the round metallic band or other conductive contact surface 28 upon which slips the sliding contact finger 43 as above described. Circuitry such as that of FIG. 7 may here be used, possibly with some modification thereof depending upon the particular electrical form of the motor.

From the drawings and the above description, it can be seen that a dispenser of this invention can be readily built into a counter or sales rack, or included as a modular unit with an appropriately styled concealing housing, either self supporting on the floor by a suitable further underframe or supported by surrounding counter or display shelving or rack modules. Since discharge device 23 occupies only a small front space in a rack, counter or the like, and the vertical transverse cross section of the major part of the device between the plates 20 is small, and in any event runs back into the environmental structure; and the bag supply location is at the rear, either for servicing from behind or by an inand-out slide mounting of the dispenser in the environment, the dispenser uses relatively small valuable front merchandize display area. Where the drive motor function and structure is incorporated in one of the rollers 26 or 28, the space requirement is further diminished.

I claim:

1. A dispenser for carrying bags supplied in the form of a continuous strip of said bags connected one to another successively by tear-off formation in the strip, whereby individual complete bags may be successively torn off from the strip, said dispenser comprising:

a frame including rigidly spaced side members, and

having a discharge end and a bag strip supply receiving end;

a discharge mouth defining device disposed between said side members and providing a discharge guide slot for said strip to pass therethrough and also a bag tear-off edge along an outer margin of the slot;

strip guiding means mounted between said side members for guiding a reach of the bag strip from said supply receiving end to said device;

switch means associated with said device and responsive to force applied by hand-pulling of an end bag against the said edge of the device for tearing off the bag;

strip driving feed means and sensing means engaging said strip reach before said device, including a drive motor and also sensing means for sensing occurrence of index marks spaced corresponding to successive bag lengths along said strip; and

control means responsive to actuation of said switch means to initiate strip feeding operation of said drive motor and responsive to a signal generated by said sensing means upon sensing an index mark to terminate operation of said motor after feed of a bag length through the slot of said device.

2. A dispenser as described in claim 1, with said sensing means comprising as a normally closed switch device,

a pair of cooperating opposed conductive contact elements disposed respectively on opposite sides of the path of a strip reach fed to said device, to be insulated from a signal initiating contact by the bag material and to make a signal initiating contact upon passage therebetween of an aperture, such as a bag grip hole, through said strip reach as a said index mark.

3. A dispenser as described in claim 2, with said sensing means, as a normally closed switch device, comprised of a pair of rollers rotating about parallel axis transverse to the strip reach path and provided with circumferentially continuously conductive opposed peripheral portions.

4. A dispenser as described in claim 3, wherein at least one roller is provided with a circumferentially continuous metallic strip as a said conductive peripheral portion, and as one terminal of said switch device, a conductive element is biased into sliding conductive contact with said metallic strip.

5. A dispenser as described in claim 1, with said drive means comprising a pair of rollers rotating about parallel axes transverse to the strip reach path and serving also as said strip guiding means, one of said rollers being driven by said motor.

6. A dispenser as described in claim 5, wherein said one roller itself incorporates said motor.

7. A dispenser as described in claim 5, wherein one of said rollers is rotatably mounted between said side members and the other roller is rotatably mounted in a frame supported between the side members swingably about an axis transverse to the strip reach;

said rollers having conductive opposed circumferential portions cooperating as a normally closed switch held open by strip material of the strip reach passing therebetween and closing upon occurrence of an aperture through said strip reach, and thereby providing said sensing means.

8. A dispenser as described in claim 1, wherein said device comprises a hollow element providing at an outer end an elongated slot directed transversely acorss the space between said side members and, at its inner strip reach receiving end, pivoted to said side members to swing in flap-like fashion about a pivot axis parallel to said slot and transverse to said side members;

said switch means being fixed relative to the frame and actuated by said device upon swinging as an end bag is hand-pulled against the said edge in tearing off the end bag.

9. A dispenser as described in claim 1, wherein;

said strip guide means comprises a pair of opposed rolls mounted between the side members and rotatable about axes transverse to the strip reach path to said device;

one of said rolls is motor driven for advancing said strip; said rolls cooperating as sensing rolls for sensing the occurrence therebetween of an aperture through the material of said strip and developing a signal;

said dispenser including motor control means responsive to a said signal to terminate bag strip feeding operation of the motor driven roll.

l l l =i 

1. A dispenser for carrying bags supplied in the form of a continuous strip of said bags connected one to another suCcessively by tear-off formation in the strip, whereby individual complete bags may be successively torn off from the strip, said dispenser comprising: a frame including rigidly spaced side members, and having a discharge end and a bag strip supply receiving end; a discharge mouth defining device disposed between said side members and providing a discharge guide slot for said strip to pass therethrough and also a bag tear-off edge along an outer margin of the slot; strip guiding means mounted between said side members for guiding a reach of the bag strip from said supply receiving end to said device; switch means associated with said device and responsive to force applied by hand-pulling of an end bag against the said edge of the device for tearing off the bag; strip driving feed means and sensing means engaging said strip reach before said device, including a drive motor and also sensing means for sensing occurrence of index marks spaced corresponding to successive bag lengths along said strip; and control means responsive to actuation of said switch means to initiate strip feeding operation of said drive motor and responsive to a signal generated by said sensing means upon sensing an index mark to terminate operation of said motor after feed of a bag length through the slot of said device.
 2. A dispenser as described in claim 1, with said sensing means comprising as a normally closed switch device, a pair of cooperating opposed conductive contact elements disposed respectively on opposite sides of the path of a strip reach fed to said device, to be insulated from a signal initiating contact by the bag material and to make a signal initiating contact upon passage therebetween of an aperture, such as a bag grip hole, through said strip reach as a said index mark.
 3. A dispenser as described in claim 2, with said sensing means, as a normally closed switch device, comprised of a pair of rollers rotating about parallel axis transverse to the strip reach path and provided with circumferentially continuously conductive opposed peripheral portions.
 4. A dispenser as described in claim 3, wherein at least one roller is provided with a circumferentially continuous metallic strip as a said conductive peripheral portion, and as one terminal of said switch device, a conductive element is biased into sliding conductive contact with said metallic strip.
 5. A dispenser as described in claim 1, with said drive means comprising a pair of rollers rotating about parallel axes transverse to the strip reach path and serving also as said strip guiding means, one of said rollers being driven by said motor.
 6. A dispenser as described in claim 5, wherein said one roller itself incorporates said motor.
 7. A dispenser as described in claim 5, wherein one of said rollers is rotatably mounted between said side members and the other roller is rotatably mounted in a frame supported between the side members swingably about an axis transverse to the strip reach; said rollers having conductive opposed circumferential portions cooperating as a normally closed switch held open by strip material of the strip reach passing therebetween and closing upon occurrence of an aperture through said strip reach, and thereby providing said sensing means.
 8. A dispenser as described in claim 1, wherein said device comprises a hollow element providing at an outer end an elongated slot directed transversely acorss the space between said side members and, at its inner strip reach receiving end, pivoted to said side members to swing in flap-like fashion about a pivot axis parallel to said slot and transverse to said side members; said switch means being fixed relative to the frame and actuated by said device upon swinging as an end bag is hand-pulled against the said edge in tearing off the end bag.
 9. A dispenser as described in claim 1, wherein; said strip guide means comprises a pair of opposed rolls mounted betweeN the side members and rotatable about axes transverse to the strip reach path to said device; one of said rolls is motor driven for advancing said strip; said rolls cooperating as sensing rolls for sensing the occurrence therebetween of an aperture through the material of said strip and developing a signal; said dispenser including motor control means responsive to a said signal to terminate bag strip feeding operation of the motor driven roll. 